NEW ORLEANS - A second-half comeback effort by the Tulane men's basketball team fell just short on Saturday night, falling to visiting Tulsa, 73-69, in Fogelman Arena.

The Green Wave (15-13, 3-11 C-USA) trailed 37-30 at the break and 39-30 seconds into the second half, but chipped away to retake a lead in the final three minutes, but the Golden Hurricane (17-11, 10-4 C-USA) scored the final five points of the game in the last 1:00 to secure the victory.

"I'm really, really proud of our guys for the fight they showed tonight," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "That was in some ways the smartest game we've played all year. We played to peoples strengths. I wish it would have come out on the positive end, but they know they played the game the right way today."

Ricky Tarrant led Tulane once again. The freshman guard scored 21 points, including 12 in the second half, to go with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Jordan Callahan posted 16 points with three 3-pointers, five assists and four rebounds.

Tulane held a five-point lead in the opening half on three occasions, including 18-13 with 13:19 remaining after a 3-pointer by Jay Hook. The Green Wave led 20-16 with 10:34 left before Tulsa used an 8-0 run to retake the lead, one they held until 3:00 remaining in the game.

Tulane was able to retake the lead with a 10-0 run in the second half. Kodi Maduka put Tulsa up 63-55 with 6:38 left before consecutive 3-pointers from Tarrant and Davis and free throws from Callahan, Tre Drye and Tarrant gave the Green Wave a 65-63 lead with 2:37 remaining.

Tulsa's Jordan Clarkson ended the run with a 3-pointer to retake the lead. The lead changed hands four more times before the Golden Hurricane's 5-0 run that ended the game.

"Credit Tulsa with their execution," Conroy said. "They did a very good job down the stretch. They were able to get the ball inside three straight times to three different guys and it was hard for us to figure out a match-up. They have that great size across the board and were able to get inside scores."

Maduka led Tulsa with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Clarkson and Eric McClellan each added 15 points and Scottie Haralson and Steven Idlet each chipped in 11. Idlet added seven boards to help the Golden Hurricane outrebound Tulane, 37-25.

Tulsa shot 54.0 percent from the floor and hit six 3-pointers. Tulane hit 47.1 percent from the floor and had eight 3-pointers. The Green Wave, although, only knocked down 13 of 23 free throws.

Tulane will try to snap the five-game losing streak at Houston in the final regular season road game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT in Hofheinz Pavilion.

GAME NOTES
- Freshman Ricky Tarrant scored in double figures for the 23rd game this season with his 21 points tonight. He has now scored in double figures in 14 straight games and has reached 20-plus points ninth times this year.
- Jordan Callahan reached double figures in scoring for the 20th game this season and the 50th game of his career with his 16 points tonight.

The mission of the Tulane University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is to support the university's purpose of enriching the capacity to think, learn, act, and lead with integrity and wisdom. This is ensured by providing our student-athletes and staff with opportunities for competitive success and personal growth within the context of sportsmanship, teamwork, and integrity.